سْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
18-11-1437H
We are approaching one of the greatest seasons of obedience to Allah, and that is the 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah - the most virtuous days in the entire year.
We need to receive this season, and seasons like it, with preparation. How?
-> By Preparing our Hearts
-> Increasing in Good Deeds.
-> Strengthening our Certainty in the Reality of this Life
1) Preparing our Hearts
We need to have a heart which is pure, alive, and softened; a heart which knows Allah and is filled with love and magnification of Him.
Many people focus on the actions of the limbs and neglect their hearts. Although, little good deeds based on strong faith have greater reward and are heavier in the scale in comparison to abundant good deeds with weak faith.
We have to purify our heart from all sicknesses, and the head of all sicknesses is love and attachment to the worldly life. The Scholars said that love of this worldly life is the head of all sins. Most, if not all sins are committed due to love of this world;- when you see envy, killing, fighting, it is all done for this life. If you look into a person who persists in sin, it is because she loves and is inclined to this worldly life, so she prefers it over to what Allah wants from her.
What is the description of the alive heart?
1) It is a heart which is attached to Allah; it loves Allah much and honours Him much.
The impact of your love should be made apparent on your deeds, speech, appearance, way of thinking. How much are you avoiding the prohibitons of Allah?
2) It witnesses every impact of Allahs Attributes.
E.g. The persons sees that Allah had been Merciful with him when He protected him from such and such situation or gave him such and such blessing.
He looks into the commandments and prohibitons and sees the Wisdom of Allah.
Someone offended him, and no one removed the offense and the hurt from his heart, except Allah Al-Jabbar.
He became sick, and no one was able to cure him, except Allah Ash-Shafi.
The believer sees the impacts of Allahs Attributes in every situation in his life.
3) It attributes every blessing to Allah
E.g. "Allah cured me, guided me, protected me, granted me this knowledge..."
4) It always remembers the hereafter, the Day of Judgement, the Meeting with Allah.
He witnesses the Scale, the Siraat, the Meeting with Allah, with his insight.
2) Increasing in a Good Deeds
In [4:136]:
"O you who believe! Believe in Allah, and His Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ), and the Book (the Quran) which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him), and whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away."
"يأيها الذين آمنوا" - "O you who believe!"
Allah is addressing the believers.
"ءامنوا" - "Believe"
Allah commands the believers to believe.
How, when they are already believers? Allah wants something more from them, He wants them to achieve something they have not achieved yet - to perform actions which will reform and perfect their faith.
What should you do in order to perfect your faith?
1) Purify your intention - Do everything sincerely for the sake of Allah.
2) Increase in righteousness and good deeds
3) Avoid violating the prohibitons
4) Repent to Allah
5) Seek knowledge and act upon what you learn
6) Stay firm on all the above until death
Sheikh Abdul-Razzaq Al-Badr said there is no holiday when it comes to acquiring knowledge.
رأى رجلٌ مع الإمام أحمد محبرة فقال له: يا أبا عبد الله، أنت قد بلغت هذا المبلغ، وأنت إمام المسلمين، ومعك المَحبَرَةُ تحملها فقال: مع المَحبَرة إلى المقبرة.
A man saw Imam Ahmed with his Mihbarah (a wooden inkwell that students would carry with their pens), and said, ‘O Abaa ‘Abdillaah!’ You have reached this position, and you are the Imam of the Muslims, and with you is the Mihbarah?" He replied, “With the mih-barah all the way to the maq-barah (the graveyard).” (i.e. I will be busy with knowledge until I die.)"
3) Strengthening our Certainty on the Reality of this Life
This life is a perishable life. It will fade away one day. And you will leave it.
When you know that a matter is perishable, why are you attached to it? When you know it will leave you one day, why are you in love with it and disobey Allah because of it?
This worldly life is the abode of amusement, adornment, boasting, amassing. That is all it is. The people compete with each other regarding this life, although they know it is perishable. This is doing something contrary to what they believe in.
We are approaching a very great season. The Prophet ﷺ said:
"...تَعَرَّفْ إلَى اللَّهِ فِي الرَّخَاءِ يَعْرِفُك فِي الشِّدَّةِ..."
"...Recognize and acknowledge Allah in times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember you in times of adversity..."
Train yourself to do good deeds now, so that you will be helped by Allah during the 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah. Start purifying your heart, increasing in faith, asking forgiveness for your sins, performing good deeds.
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